(Host) The race for secretary of state has become a brawling campaign.
Democrats and Republicans will decide their candidates in a primary next month. And as VPR’s John Dillon reports, what is normally a quiet contest has heated up considerably in the last few days.
(Dillon) The sharp elbows first started flying in the Republican primary contest. Lawyer Chris Roy is running against Jason Gibbs, a longtime spokesman for Governor Jim Douglas who served most recently as commissioner of Forest and Parks.
Roy accused Gibbs of overstating his work experience in the private sector because Gibbs had counted the time he spent mowing lawns and painting houses in college. Roy also challenged Gibbs’ statement that he had cut the budget at Forest and Parks to – quote – "reduce its reliance on taxpayers by 30 percent."
Roy says the budget actually went up under Gibbs’ tenure, thanks to an infusion of federal stimulus funds.
(Roy) "He’s selling his work on this budget by citing inaccurate numbers or numbers that he hasn’t backed up."
(Dillon) Roy says he has quickly corrected the record when he’s been wrong, including some mistakes that were in his own campaign finance report. But he said Gibbs has refused to acknowledge mistakes.
(Roy) "I think honor and integrity are going to continue to play a major role in this campaign and once Jason responds to his inconsistencies we’ll find out just how much an issue it’s going to be."
(Dillon) For his part, Gibbs says he is being factual and consistent. He says the department’s reliance on state tax revenues did in fact decline by 30 percent if all three fiscal years of his tenure are counted. Yet he says the department’s revenues went up because of increased timber sales and new visitors to the state park system.
(Gibbs) "We decreased the department’s size by 20 percent. And I had to look six people in the eye and explain to them that we didn’t have enough revenue, tax revenue to fund their positions. So I’m … very acutely aware what my budget situation was as commissioner of Forest and Parks."
(Dillon) And Gibbs tried to brush off Roy’s attack.
(Gibbs) "I’m sure he’s frustrated. He’s had a lot of challenges getting traction. He’s been in the race for about a year and we’ve been in the race for about two months, and clearly are succeeding in generating a lot more enthusiasm."
(Dillon) It is sometimes difficult to attract attention to down-ballot races, especially in a year with a crowded Democratic gubernatorial primary.
But Democratic candidate for Secretary of State Charles Merriman may have drawn some unwanted notice this week. Merriman said in a WDEV radio interview that he should have run as an independent, but that he had a better chance of winning as a Democrat.
Some Democratic activists quickly pounced. And his opponent, former Chittenden Senator Jim Condos, said he was shocked by the statement.
(Condos) "It certainly reflects on someone, on their character, if you’re talking about a situation where … you’re using the party to benefit yourself."
(Dillon) Merriman said he is a Democrat but that he views the secretary of state’s position as non-partisan, especially since it presides over elections.
(Merriman) "For a service office, which is what the secretary of state’s office is, one has no business declaring a party allegiance, really, when you get down to it, and that’s the point that I’m trying to make. All four of us ought to be running as independents."
(Dillon) The candidates say this contest is getting so spirited because there’s a rare opening for the job. And they say all four are aggressive candidates who want very much to win.
For VPR News, I’m John Dillon in Montpelier.